The present invention relates to turbine engines, and more particularly to a variable fan inlet guide vane for a turbine engine, such as a tip turbine engine.
An aircraft gas turbine engine of the conventional turbofan type generally includes a forward bypass fan, a low pressure compressor, a middle core engine, and an aft low pressure turbine, all located along a common longitudinal axis. A high pressure compressor and a high pressure turbine of the core engine are interconnected by a high spool shaft. The high pressure compressor is rotatably driven to compress air entering the core engine to a relatively high pressure. This high pressure air is then mixed with fuel in a combustor, where it is ignited to form a high energy gas stream. The gas stream flows axially aft to rotatably drive the high pressure turbine, which rotatably drives the high pressure compressor via the high spool shaft. The gas stream leaving the high pressure turbine is expanded through the low pressure turbine, which rotatably drives the bypass fan and low pressure compressor via a low spool shaft.
Although highly efficient, conventional turbofan engines operate in an axial flow relationship. The axial flow relationship results in a relatively complicated elongated engine structure of considerable length relative to the engine diameter. This elongated shape may complicate or prevent packaging of the engine into particular applications.
A recent development in gas turbine engines is the tip turbine engine. Tip turbine engines may include a low pressure axial compressor directing core airflow into hollow fan blades. The hollow fan blades operate as a centrifugal compressor when rotating. Compressed core airflow from the hollow fan blades is mixed with fuel in an annular combustor, where it is ignited to form a high energy gas stream which drives the turbine that is integrated onto the tips of the hollow bypass fan blades for rotation therewith as generally disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos.: 20030192303; 20030192304; and 20040025490. The tip turbine engine provides a thrust-to-weight ratio equivalent to or greater than conventional turbofan engines of the same class, but within a package of significantly shorter length.
Some low bypass ratio conventional turbine engines include variable fan inlet guide vanes. The variable fan inlet guide vanes each include a pivotably mounted flap. The trailing edges of the flaps are all connected via activation levers to a unison ring about the outer circumference of the flaps, such that rotation of the unison ring causes the flaps to pivot uniformly. Generally, high bypass ratio turbine engines (i.e. with a bypass ratio greater than three) do not include variable fan inlet guide vanes.